Product Description

'Turn On The Bright Lights' is the debut album from New York post-punk revivalists, Interpol. Their sound has been likened by critics to the music of Joy Division and The Strokes.The tracks 'PDA' and 'NYC' are taken from their 2002 self-titled Matador EP.

Track Listing

1. Untitled
2. Obstacle 1
3. NYC
4. PDA
5. Say Hello To The Angels
6. Hands Away
7. Obstacle 2
8. Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
9. Roland
10. The New
11. Leif Erikson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3670 in Music
• Released on: 2002-08-19
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The early 80s sub-gothic, post-punk are clearly Interpol's obsession on Turn On the Bright Lights. Though stylishly clad in suits and ties and unmistakably a New York band, their music is a literate, atmospheric, always-moody, sometimes-trashy post-punk often recalling the Psychedelic Furs, particularly with "PDA", "Obstacle 2", "Roland" and "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down". And this is definitely a good thing. While most young bands are still rhyming "make it" with "fake it", it's truly refreshing to hear Interpol's melodramatic tales of tortured and tortuous urban relationships. Like their peers the Strokes, they're a bright band, sophisticated and meticulous enough to build genuinely stirring soundscapes. Turn On the Bright Lights is an absolute must for anyone who missed Echo & The Bunnymen, the Furs or Joy Division the first time round. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

Wow
An awesome debut featuring some strong tracks (PDA, Obstacle 1...) and some epics (The New in particular). What struck me was the seemingly light front of some of the songs but their dark undertones and meaningful lyrics. One such example is The New with its 'lovey-dovey' start and then a clashing, epic second half. I love Interpol and have since begged, borrowed or stolen their other two albums and feel much the same about them - Great Stuff!

A genuine modern classic
"Turn on the Bright Lights" is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of the decade, completely justifying the hype that surrounded its release, and remains one of my favourite albums five years after its release.

The highlights include "Obstacle 1" (rightfully voted one of the best guitar tracks ever by Q Magazine), the wonderfully melancholy "NYC" and the beautiful album closer "Leif Erikson". That said, no track here is dispensible - all contribute to making this the brilliant album that it is. "Obstacle 2" is a real grower - I didn't like it at first, but can't get enough of it now. The bass is so rude that it should have an ASBO slapped on it. "Say Hello to the Angels" showcases the band's ability to make a song without a clear structure and yet which completely works.

I love it when bands just let their instruments play and not always worry about flooding each song with vocals. An example is the glorious section towards the end of "PDA" (from 3:11 onwards) where the music builds from guitar to bass to drums to, eventually, vocals. It really is a delight to listen to. There are also such examples in "Hands Away" and "The New". When your instruments sound this good, you don't always need wall-to-wall vocals.

The album's main strength, and what sets it apart from it's (admittedly excellent) successor "Antics" is that you never get tired of it, such is the brilliant construction of the album. Also, it is more of an "album" in the traditional sense, whereas "Antics" is arguably a collection of singles. It doesn't flow as well as "Turn On The Bright Lights".

Not to be confused
I bought "Turn on" after "Antics" and I don't think it's commercially as strong an album but nonetheless pretty damn good
What I do find surprising are the references by other reviewers to Joy Division and other Indie bands of the early eighties because I can find no real similarity. If any comparison can be drawn to the vocal it would be Michael Stipe meets Pete Murphy.
As for comparisons to The Editors, that is more logical but Interpol sound distinctly American and all the more so for using words like "couch" instead of "sofa".
I would recommend this as a purchase to anyone who likes their music to be on the darker side.